A holonomic drivetrain moves with three degrees of freedom which can provide enhanced maneuverability for various wheeled vehicle applications, particularly robotic applications. Holonomic drivetrains typically use omnidirectional wheels, including mecanum wheels, which facilitate shifting the vehicle from side to side or strafing diagonally without changing the direction of its wheels. While these maneuvers can provide advantages from a maneuverability perspective, they can have problems negotiating bumps when the wheels move parallel to their axis of rotation and the sides of the wheels can catch on steps and other surface discontinuities.
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed embodiments. Further, the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments. Moreover, while the disclosed technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to unnecessarily limit the embodiments described. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover all suitable modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims.